@njh287; www.dsmsports.net
On episode 242 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast, Neil
chatted with Kurt Gies, Director of Social Media and Influencers for
the Los Angeles Rams
What follows is a collection of snippets from the podcast. To hear the
full interview and more, check out the podcast on all podcast
platforms and at www.dsmsports.net.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

Kurt’s Career Path
“I’m originally from Philadelphia, currently [living] out in Los
Angeles, California. I’m a graduate of a very small college in North
Philadelphia called La Salle University. Maybe the claim to fame there
is the Southwest Philly floater for their 2013 Cinderella run in March
Madness.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“But yeah, I went to college in Philadelphia and spent pretty much all
my time there until I moved out here to LA. I graduated in 2012 from
La Salle with a marketing degree and a minor in psychology, I had an
internship at an advertising agency during that time. After I
graduated, a little-known part of my story, but I always like to bring it
up — [I] graduated in 2012, there was no job for me at the advertising
agency that I was at, [so] I went back home, was living with mom and
Dad, had to make some money, so I was delivering pizzas for like 6 or
8 months until the agency gave me a call back and said, ‘Hey, we have
a job for you.’
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“I worked there for about two years. I started off as a traffic
coordinator, which is basically just routing all of the different jobs
that go to the account managers and designers and video team and
things like that. I was really fortunate for that time as a traffic
coordinator because I got to see all these different aspects in the early
years of how everybody worked and got to pick people's brains about
design and Photoshop and account management.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“This was 2012, so social media was still very new. And I grew up in
social media, so I was always on it. I remember my brother was on
Facebook because he was in college and that was the only way that
you could get on, and I was just dying to be on Facebook. So when
2012 came along [at the agency] and more things started popping up
[on social media] and brands started to put more emphasis on it I just
expressed interest to the agency. I was like, ‘Hey, social media is this
really powerful tool and positions are starting to pop up everywhere,
so if there was ever an opportunity to do that here, I would love to
change from traffic coordinator to an account coordinator.’
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“They had a brand [account] open up that wanted to have some social
media management. It was a massage therapy company and they had
like 20 different locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Baltimore,
and the tri-state area. And they had social pages for all of them. So
they had 20 locations and they had a Twitter for each one, they had a
Facebook for each one, and they had an Instagram for each one. So
that was my introduction to social and it was a great experience;
again, the really early days.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“They had a brand [account] open up that wanted to have some social
media management. It was a massage therapy company and they had
like 20 different locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Baltimore,
and the tri-state area. And they had social pages for all of them. So
they had 20 locations and they had a Twitter for each one, they had a
Facebook for each one, and they had an Instagram for each one. So
that was my introduction to social and it was a great experience;
again, the really early days.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So I was there for about a year and then the position with the Sixers
opened up and I knew him on Twitter and I think we were connected
on LinkedIn, but I ended up messaging Max Rapaport when that
position opened up and I was like, ‘Hey, we don't necessarily know
each other, but I saw this position is open and I’m not sure where
they're at in the hiring process, but I would love if you had some time
to chat about your experience there,’ and he was nice enough to hop
on the phone and we talked and I gave him my resume and he sent it
to the hiring manager there. I ended up getting that job and just, like,
a dream come true…growing up the biggest Allen Iverson fan and
[the] Sixers were definitely number one in my Philadelphia sports
heart.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So I got to work there and that was 2015 so there was an emphasis
on social but not a huge emphasis. I was a one-man band. I was
pressing post and tweet on everything, I was taking photos, capturing
content, editing videos, making graphics, and [it was] just a really
well-rounded experience to be able to do all those things. I think if I
didn't have to do all those things, I probably wouldn't be able to
contribute to where I'm at today.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So I was there for four years and started off as a one-man band but
ended up with a team of four or five by the time that I left. It's crazy,
graduating in 2013 and then by 2017 that team in social just grows so
much in a relatively short amount of time. After that, my former boss
at the Sixers, Charlie Widdoes, was putting together a super team at
the LA Clippers and he gave me a ring one day in 2019 and said, ‘Hey,
we have a position for you if you want to move the family out here.’ I
had a conversation with my wife and my family and we decided that
was the best opportunity to see even more growth in my career and as
a person.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“I landed out in LA and so did [newly acquired players] Kawhi
[Leonard] and [Paul George] right when I started. I worked at the
Clippers through the pandemic, which was tough times obviously just
in general but on social too, and all the work that was required to get
through that. That super team [of digital/social] kind of dispersed and
found their own opportunities and success elsewhere and it was just
me and Tommy Zweibel left there at the Clippers and an opportunity
opened up at the Rams and I hopped on that in November of 2021.
We lost every single game in November and everybody was looking at
me like ‘this guy joined and then we lost all these games,’ but
obviously ended up on top with the Super Bowl win.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

On how coming up in marketing affected the development of his social media
skills and intuition
“Being a traffic coordinator, I was really able to see what everybody was doing
within the agency, so I think that that definitely gave me a different perspective.
But as it pertains to social, I really do think, and when I talk to people, I'm
definitely a product of being in the right place at the right time, right? Like social
kind of blowing up right when I graduated, at least blowing up for brands when I
graduated, and just kind of right place right time. But how I use social, like the
engagement with people even from a personal standpoint, I was just always on
social and I was always on Twitter and Instagram and I loved going back and forth
with people and developing a community and what that looked like and it wasn't
necessarily engaging with brands or posting about brands. It was about doing
jokes with people that you met on the Internet or shared common interests with.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So like that's what I think really helped shape my view on social, just
being in the early days of when those things were becoming popular and
the network and the people that I was able to meet through the Internet
and how they used it. And as you said, it's not just this dumping ground
to get people to do something, but it's — we hear this word all the time
— but it's engaging them. And what does that look like? It can be a link,
it can be an article, it can be ‘buy something.’ But when I was using
social, when it first started, it was the early days of memes and talking
back and forth with people and covering things in a live sense, whether
it be Eagles games or Sixers games or Phillies games. The Philadelphia
sports community on Twitter is really where I got started and just
seeing how people used social really helped shape my mindset for it.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So when I got into a place like NBC Sports and I got into a place like
the Sixers, it was like, ‘Hey, sure we're going to be pushing these
things that are marketing messages and pushing our narrative, but
there's room to have fun’ and that's what people gravitate towards.
They gravitate toward the content that is striking an emotional chord.
“So a bit of a rambling statement there, but yeah, really just my
personal use of social in the early days is what I think helped shape
my mindset for it. And then as I had these different stops at an agency
and at a news outlet and at a team it really helped, um, develop the
business aspect of it, and then I was applying my creativity towards
it.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

On taking over the Sixers channels and maintaining the voice and
personality
“As cliche as it may sound, [it was] such big shoes to fill. When I got there
and, thinking back, like I was DMing and texting back and forth with Max
and Sandro probably for the first three to six months of my time there.
The foundation that they set and how to kind of keep that going, and like
you said offline, we were talking about how back in the day it wasn't
necessarily about the people who are behind the account and it's kind of
evolved into that. But people knew Max and people knew Sandro and they
knew the product that they were putting out there. So when that voice
even shifted just a little bit from when I first started, it was like — I didn't
take this to heart — but it was like 'bring back Max, bring back Sandro.’
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“They did such a good job of developing that voice that any straying
away from that made people not angry but made people notice. So
just talking to those guys a lot and kind of getting into their mindset
and [the] foundation but then also putting my own spin on it. A key I
think to my success was probably having a bit in my younger days of a
chip on my shoulder to be like, ‘Man, these guys built something that
was so awesome, I want to do something that's equally as awesome or
even better.’
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So I used that as motivation to learn from them and duplicate some of
the things that they did, but then also put my own creative spin on it. And
you hit the nail on the head of that account is not talking in just this plain
voice, it's talking as if it's a Philadelphian, and Philadelphians appreciate
that so much. You look at the makeup of the team too — and this is
another great aspect of what Sandro and Max did and, you know, I hope I
emulated — but Joel Embiid especially in his early days was such a
personality and it was like how do you take that huge personality and try
and replicate that? Because at the end of the day, if you're a sports brand
account, you probably want to take on the voice of the people on your
team; because at the end of the day people don't want to hear what Kurt
has to say — they're here for the players, they're here for the product.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So having somebody like Joel Embiid is a huge piece of that and they
did a great job emulating that and it just really opened up the doors
for me as he started to play and become even more popular of like,
‘Hey, Joel is trolling people, we're going to troll people too’ or we're
going to take on that similar voice. So, shout out to those guys for
setting that foundation, just being a huge help in my early days, and
inspiring me to take it to another level.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

On Sixers buy-in for what Kurt was doing with the Sixers channels
and creative leeway
“I had my portfolio of things that I would do at NBC Sports, so
everybody kind of knew the product that I would be able to put out
there. And that foundation was set. Not to say that it wasn't an
organizational priority, but 2015 was still the very early days of social,
and I think that brands and organizations have seen more importance
and more refinement in social and [to now in] 2023…So in 2015 I
think there was a much longer leash to be able to do things, but that
foundation that was set, that was the expectation.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“The barometer for success was — Complex used to do these rankings
of the team accounts and I think that the Sixers under Max and
Sandro were probably number one if not the top, so I always
remember those rankings would come out and I was like, ‘We gotta be
top five. We gotta be number one.’ I was just so hell-bent on being
number one on that poll. And by the time that I had left, I think we
were at the top at least once, maybe twice. But yeah, it was the
expectation and, again, there was a lot longer leash to do things
because social was just still so new.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

On tipping points Kurt has seen in his career with social teams
growing and gaining more resources and investment
“I think at least from the sports side the team's success fueled some of
that. So, you know, my first season at the Sixers we won ten games
which, to be able to see success in a season where you win ten games
is really something. But then Joel [Embiid] started playing and the
records started to get better and then they form that team with Jimmy
Butler and Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons and there was just more
emphasis on like, ‘Hey, we're going to be really good and we want to
make sure that we're putting forth the product that's going to best
encapsulate that.’
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“I'd say that was the case at the Clippers, too. They were building up from
being a successful fringe team that would compete in the playoffs and gave
the [Golden State] Warriors hell when they were a super team, but then they
added Kawhi and PG. So I'd say that the success of the team is probably a bit
of a tipping point, but it's also the goals of the organization. So during my
time at the Sixers and even the Clippers, but especially at the Sixers,
sponsored content started popping up and started to become more important
to partners that would come on. And to be able to facilitate that and create
content and meet those obligations and there's a dollar amount behind it —
that justifies that [investment]. So I think that those are kind of like the
tipping points. It's the success of the team and then what the goals are for the
organization and whether that be to grow the fan base, whether that be to
generate more revenue through sponsored content and things like that.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

On the transformation of the Clippers and reinvigoration and
reinvention of their brand and social
“So Charlie [Widdoes] was the first to take the job at the Clippers and
then that was the year prior to me starting But he got Sandro from
IMG and WME where he was he was working after the Sixers and
then the Director of Production, Tommy Zweibel. So, you know, they
went in and it was the earlier days of Steve Ballmer owning the team
and it was exactly what you're saying. It's how do we start to make
that shift? How do we start to really craft our narrative and make sure
that our narrative is out there in a way that's going to build this brand
up?
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So when those guys started they didn't have Kawhi and PG, but they
did an incredible job of crafting that narrative and sticking to that
narrative to help build that brand up from what it used to be. And
then, you know, you get somebody like Kawhi and PG and your title
contenders and everything was very calculated — that was probably
one of the biggest I learned of many things from working with those
guys. But that's something that I always go back to, just there's always
a why behind what it is that we're posting and what it is that we're
creating, and making sure that it's achieving what that narrative is.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So for the Clippers, it was, ‘Hey, we're a blue-collar team. We're a
gritty team. We're not this superstar team.’ So we want to show that
we're always putting in work. We want to show that we're not afraid to
roll up our sleeves and here are the specific players that we want to
highlight and the keywords — so just really calculated and determined
what it was that we were highlighting in the content that we were
creating. We weren't just creating things to create them. We were
creating things and crafting copy — there are so many things that go
into it. But we were doing all of this with meaning behind it. There
was always a why and if you wanted to create a piece of content or do
something and there wasn't a why behind that, then it probably
wasn't getting through.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So, yeah, just really calculated with that narrative. And you know,
you pair that with somebody like Charlie and Sandro and, and the
people within that team too, like Paul Hughes and Tom Garbett and a
handful of others, Brandon Lim — so a lot of people who contributed
and are elsewhere now succeeding in their roles, it really just goes to
show that that team that we had, they're managers or heads of their
department now. So we had such a star-studded team and [I’m]
really appreciative to just be around all of them.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“I'm going off on a sentimental tangent there, but the narrative part
and the being really purposeful with the content and making sure it's
sticking with the organizational narrative was a big part and a big
thing that I took away from working with those guys and like that's a
tough thing to do. Like it's easy to want to create a piece of content
and just throw it up, but it might not necessarily have a why behind it.
It really makes you think and it really makes you work hard. It was
difficult at times but it made us made us all better and made me
better for sure.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

On focusing on results beyond only plain numbers
“Focusing on engagement, that doesn't necessarily mean that can't hit both [goals].
You know, like saying something that's like, ‘Hey, this is a meme, but that still
ladders back to a goal’ which could be engaging in Internet culture because that's
going to help hit fans that aren't fans of the Clippers; or the complete opposite of
that of like, ‘Hey, community is really important and showing what we're doing in
the community is really important for our narrative,’ but that stuff might not
necessarily perform that well; there are ways to make it more creative, but that's
still really important to our narrative. So understanding that sometimes things that
you're doing might not necessarily be for the engagement or for the impressions
but are still really important in telling that story. Then the other side of it of like,
‘Hey, let's do something really creative and it's still going to ladder back to those
goals, but it might not hit every single touchpoint that you need it to.’”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

On going from the NBA to the NFL with the Rams
“[It was] big a big learning curve going from one league to another. Both leagues
just have a different set of rules and things that you can do. So I'd like to be
honest and say that I'm still earning some of those things today. But yeah, I mean
a big adjustment. In the NBA, like you said, it's games every other night and
they're all night games and you're working from 4:00 until 1:00 in the morning
and I did that for seven years and that really helped shape who I was. But the
adjustment going from 82 games plus playoffs plus pre-season plus summer
league to one game a week and a relatively short season and a relatively long off-
season was a welcomed one, especially just as I've grown as a person with a
family and a wife and now five-year-old [kid]. So being able to be home for
dinner every night and being able to go to soccer games and do more things like
that is definitely a welcomed one.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“But none of that is to say that it's any less work. Just because you
have one game doesn't mean that you're not still working a ton of
hours and really grinding things out, it's just a different type of grind.
So yeah, it was a big adjustment, definitely a welcomed adjustment in
this time of my life.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

Getting to know the NFL fan base on social as compared to the NBA
“I think it's the level of engaged-ness that they are, right? Like the
NBA is always happening and it's games every other night and there's
a group of people who are watching every single game as opposed to
the NFL where on Sundays is when they're the most engaged; they're
still engaged during the week, but [game day] is such a monumental
moment. And I'd say that that's another big difference between the
NBA and the NFL is, like, what does a Wednesday night game in the
middle of the season mean for the NBA versus literally every Sunday?
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“I remember showing up to my first game at Sofi [Stadium] and I'm
like, ‘Wow, this is an event, this is such a momentous occasion.’ So
making sure that like literally every Sunday and literally every game
day we're bringing our best. And not to say that you're not doing that
or that I wasn't doing that in the NBA, but the magnitude of those
games is just so much larger. So I'd say the engaged-ness of the fan
and in the NFL doing what you need to do to make sure that they're
always engaged because you don't always have a game every other
night like the NBA.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

About the Super Bowl season and maximizing the value for the Rams
short-term and long-term
“When I [joined the team] in November things were kind of already
underway…I joined and they had just traded for Von Miller and then
they signed OBJ [Odell Beckham Jr.] so just crazy that I joined the
Clippers when Kawhi and PG joined and then joined the Rams and
Von and OBJ joined — just how lucky that is. But you know those two
guys joined and I think I mentioned it at the top we lost every game in
November but then we started to have this team that was starting to
come together with the addition of those two guys. And I think that
like you felt that.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“But it really was like any given Sunday when you look at our playoff
run; there are a lot of moments in there that hinge on one moment
and that's like the interception in the NFC championship game when
[Aaron Donald] gets to Jimmy Garoppolo or down in Tampa Bay, like
Tom Brady turns it on and it's a tie game, but then Matthew Stafford,
as the game's winding down, finds Cooper Kupp for a 70-yard bomb
— they all came down to one play.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So we always knew that we were a great team and that we had the pieces to get
to where we needed to be, so we were always in planning mode as if we were
going to win the Super Bowl. Going into the playoffs, with one game a week you
have so much time to plan and there are other things going on, but that's the nice
part about the amount of lead time that you have. So tons of planning cross-
functionally and just what our narrative is and, from a social front, content that
we want to create and like ‘Hey, if we, beat the Cardinals in the wild card round,
this is what we're going to do. And then if we beat the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay,
this is what we're going to do.
“So a lot of time spent with my team and back then we were meeting every single
day, like an hour-long meeting every single day to go over these things. I was still
getting to know my team. But yeah, just a lot of meeting, a lot of planning, a lot of
running and gunning too, and things that would pop up.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“I really felt that, as corny as this might sound — I really felt that all the work that
I had put in over my time at the Sixers and the Clippers all led up to that
moment, and everything that I had learned I was putting to use during that time.
So it just felt like a culmination of events. There's this text message that I'll never
forget that I got from Tom Garbett that we were going to the Super Bowl and he
texted me and he was like, ‘This is your magnum opus man. You're doing an
incredible job and it's so awesome to see,’ and that really hit me and just made
me think about all of the work that I put in to get to this point and all the people
that helped me get to this point and all the things that I've learned from so many
people to get to that point.
“I was just trying to apply it all because, you know, a lot of people spend a lot of
time in sports and they don't reach that and I just feel really fortunate to be able
to get there.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

About Kurt’s role working with influencers for the Rams and the goals of their
programs
“So when I was in the interview process to get the role that I started with my boss
Marissa Daly had kind of outlined my path of growth and influencers was tied to
that. Her thought and our thought was [that] applying influencers to [the] social
[department] just makes the most sense, because where are you finding these
influencers? On social. What do you want them to do? Post on social. What do you
want them to create? Content for social for your accounts that is going to go on
social. So it just made a ton of sense to have influencers in the social umbrella. And
I'm super excited about it. I really feel like I can make a big impact in that space
and also learn new things. This is something that I've been doing for a while, but
you know, the influencer and content creator space is continually growing so I’m
just looking forward to this opportunity to apply the things that I've learned and
then also learn new things.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“I think it's probably the case for everybody, but the way that we view
it is working with influencers is then getting our brand in front of a
completely new audience, and hopefully that translates to follower
growth, but it most definitely attributes to brand recognition as well.
We just hired somebody for an influencer position on my team and
I'm super excited for her to start. She comes with a bunch of
experience and knowledge that I'm looking forward to learning and
just working with her to be able to develop these really long-term
plans.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“I think that one of the things that is lost with influencers is if
somebody does one thing with you, that's great, but how much is that
impacting? So how can we develop more long-term relationships that
are going to get our brand and our accounts in front of these
audiences for a longer period of time which in turn is going to create
even more brand exposure and likely follower growth? So that's the
way that we're looking at it. I feel fortunate to be able to have
somebody dedicated to focusing on that, and I think that we'll be able
to make a pretty serious impact because of that…
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“We have different verticals that we want to hit. I'm sure anybody that
you've ever had on this podcast or anybody that you've talked to in
social, the one audience that they're trying to hit is the youth. So what
does that look like and the content that you're creating around that?
But you know, we want to get outside of football, too. We have these
different verticals, whether it be lifestyle, which is like fashion and
food and beverage and things like that. Being in LA and being in
Hollywood, pop culture is pretty easily accessible here, [too]. So yeah,
we have those different verticals of the people that we want to hit and
those growth markets that we've determined.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“So we have our goals set out each year of what growth we want to see
across our platforms and what platforms we're putting the most
emphasis on. And influencers will be a big part of that to say, ‘Hey,
TikTok is a growth platform for us. Here are the four to five people
that we want to work with. Here's the content that we want to create
to get there.’ So yeah, very strategic in that sense of targeting specific
demographics and specific verticals that we want to hit, especially
with influencers.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“The way that we are viewing it and once this influencer position comes on, just working
with her on making sure that this is the best path forward and getting her insight, but the
way that we view it is exposure, creation, and experience. So exposure is just like, we're
gifting people merch and they're wearing it in their content or they're posting photos of
them in it or videos of them in it, and that's brand recognition. Then creation is a bit more
high touch where we're co-creating content or they're creating content for us or we are
assisting them with access to create content. So like getting into Sofi, being with players.
Then experiences, we have a lot of experiences to offer right now. We have the [NFL] Draft
coming up and for the last three years we've had this place called the Draft House where
we've rented a house and that's where our war room is out of, but we also do a ton of events
there as well. So 2021 it was in Malibu, in 2022 it was in Hollywood Hills, and I won't
reveal where it's going to be this year. But that's an experience where somebody can come
to that and we can create content with them. We can forge relationships with them. We
have training camp that they can come to, the games like you mentioned. So those are kind
of the levers that we look at that we're looking to pull as we start to build out our network
and really build this foundation of influencer-led content and just relationships.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

Kurt’s POV of generative AI so far
“I haven't worked too much in that but have been tracking it like you had
mentioned. You know when I saw this question I gave it some thought and had
some ideas of how you could potentially use it. And I think to be able to use it, it's
probably like what level of trust do you have in it to do the correct job?
Obviously, there's some oversight with that. But in terms of like putting together
graphics and maybe captions and like written recaps of games and things like
that — right now, you know, you hire somebody to do all those things and you
trust that they're going to do it correctly. And I think that the same goes for AI.
“So we haven't used it so far, but I could definitely imagine a world in the coming
years where that's something that replaces maybe some more mundane tasks or
more administrative tasks. But yeah, haven't used it just yet.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

The most memorable game from Kurt’s time at La Salle
“So I’m going to cheat on this one a little bit and I'd mentioned it at
the top, but in 2013 La Salle made a run in the [NCAA Men’s
Basketball] tournament and made it to the Sweet 16 [the year after I
graduated]...A very iconic moment called the Southwest Philly floater
where Ty Garland, who might be the most well-known La Salle alum,
now there's definitely more, but he hit this layup to put them ahead
with 2.5 seconds to advance them to the sweet 16.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

Kurt’s number one tip for a sports organization in working with
influencers
“Let them be authentic. You're going to them for a reason. Obviously,
you want them to hit certain points, but people follow them for a
reason, people engage with them for a reason, and making sure that
they're remaining authentic to what their fans like is going to see the
most success. So don't force your will on them too much. Get what
you need to get done, but make sure that they're doing it in their
authentic way so that it's most impactful.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

If money were no object, how would Kurt most want to spend his
days?
“This is a [tough] one. Spending time with my family, no
doubt…[Also] when I was at the Sixers and the Clippers, I was
essentially the team photographer, and in my role at the Rams, which
I'm very grateful for, I've strayed away from that creative aspect. So if
money were no object, I would travel with my family with a very nice
camera and take photos and edit them and post them and print them
and all of that. So yeah, just get back into that photography space and
spend that time with my family and some beautiful places seeing
some unique things.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

The app or the device or piece of technology that Kurt couldn't live
without professionally and why?
“I'll go app. I'm sure that you've heard of it, but there's this app that
I've been using for maybe three or four years now called Slate and it's
essentially like a Photoshop app on your phone that has all of your
brand elements in there and just how useful that's been for us in my
time at the Clippers and my time at the Rams. To just be able to do
everything mobile and do everything really easily. So yeah I'd say that
probably Slate is the app professionally that I couldn't live without.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

Excluding teams that Kurt has worked for, what is the best home
venue experience in all sports?
“I would say I went to Green Bay this year and Green Bay was really
cool. It's so cold, but they're so into it all game. Toronto is another
one. So I was up in Toronto when Kawhi hit the shot to eliminate the
Sixers from the playoffs in game seven and that place might’ve been
the loudest that I've ever heard a building before. So I'll go Toronto
just really based off of that moment.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

The best meal to get in Philly and where to get
it
“I'm a real simple guy. So working with
Charlie and Sandro — they love food and they
know all these super unique spots. And when
I'd go out with them, I'd just be like you guys
order and I'll just eat whatever you guys order.
So I'll probably say something that's really
lame. But there's a burrito spot in Philadelphia
— which you probably wouldn't think about
when talking about Philadelphia; everybody's
probably expecting me to say a cheesesteak
spot. But yeah, there's this burrito spot in
Center City that's really good…”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

The non-LA and non-Philly pro sports teams whose social media Kurt
admires and why
“There are so many good ones out there, but I think somebody who's
doing it really well right now — you're probably going to hate me for
saying this — but the Brooklyn Nets do a terrific job. And you know
who works there? Charlie and Sandro. But the Brooklyn Nets just do a
great job. You look at how they lost Kyrie and they lost KD but their
social hasn't missed a beat. The stories that they're telling with Mikael
Bridges and Cam Thomas and all of the people who are still on that
team, those guys really just go into a team and just really change the
game for them.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

Tell us about the origin of Kurt’s social media handle @kurtwearshats
“I'm wearing one right now. I'm not on camera, but I'm wearing one
right now. So yeah, it goes back to what I was talking about of my
approach on social and just the community that I was brought up in
[where] social was more so just like a joke. I loved wearing hats and I
loved unique hats. I used to have really long hair and this really
distinct look and that was my shtick at the time, like hats and
commenting on hats and talking about hats and wearing hats. I
changed it one day from KurtyIce, which used to be my handle to
kurtwearshats. So it was more so just a joke and a shtick. Now I'm
kind of stuck with it.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

“In hindsight, I would love to just be @kurt; like everybody who has
just their first name @ I'm so envious of. I've tweeted at @Kurt a
handful of times and I'm like, ‘Hey, is there a number that would get
this through?’ But to no avail. So yeah, it was more so just like a shtick
in the early days of social and then it ended up sticking. But I do like
wearing hats. I have a pretty good hat collection And yeah, I find that,
you know, it's a conversation starter. Like I'm wearing a 1980s
maroon Phillies hat right now and people will be like, ‘Oh, are you
from Philly?’ And that's the conversation starter. It’s the only
accessory that I wear.”
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

Kurt’s Social Media All-Star to Follow
”So the person that I'm going to go with is somebody that I worked with at the
Clippers and had mentioned him a couple of times, not Charlie or Sandro or
Tommy Zweibel — Tom Garbett. He was a social media producer at the
Clippers and then went to the New York Knicks where he had a similar role.
He actually just joined the Brooklyn Nets as their manager of photography.
But somebody that just has a really great head on their shoulders, is super
creative, has made some amazing things, and is a really talented
photographer. I’m really excited to just see where he continues to go and grow
in his new position. If you want to give him a follow it's @ThomasGarbett on
Instagram and he's starting to post all the amazing stuff that he's capturing at
the Nets. Just a really creative individual and a really great individual, too.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

Where to find Kurt and the Rams on social media
Kurt is @kurtwearshats on Twitter and Instagram and Fortnite, find
him on LinkedIn, too
The Rams are @RamsNFL on Twitter and @Rams on Instagram,
TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies

@njh287; www.dsmsports.net
Thanks again to Kurt for being so generous with his time to share his
knowledge, experience, and expertise with me!
For more content and episodes, subscribe to the podcast, follow me
on LinkedIn and on Twitter @njh287, and visit www.dsmsports.net.
Best Of The Digital and
Social Media Sports Podcast
Episode 242: Kurt Gies